BARON, a person who holds a barony. The origin and primary import of this term have been much contested. Menage derives it from the Latin baro, a word which we find used for vir, a "stout" or "valiant man;" whence it was that those placed next the king in battles were, according to him, called barones, as being the bravest men in the army; and as princes frequently rewarded with fees the bravery and fidelity of those about them, the word came to signify any noble person who held a fee immediately of the king. Isidore, and after him Camden, suppose the word, in its original acceptance, to have meant a "mercenary soldier;" and Messieurs de Port Royal derive it from baro, "weight" or "authority." But Cicero uses the word baro for a stupid brutal man; the old Germans make mention of "buffeting a baron," meaning a villain; and the Italians use the word barone to signify a "beggar." M. de Marca thinks baron derived from the German bar, "man," or "freeman;" others seek its origin in the old Gaulish, Celtic, and Hebrew languages; and some are of opinion that it comes from the Spanish varo, a "stout noble person;" whence wives used to call their husbands, and princes their tenants, "barons." In the Salic law, as well as in the laws of the Lombards, the
word baron signifies man in general; and, accordingly, the old glossary of Philomenes renders baron ang, "man."